Jim Grant To Speak ‘In Honor’ Of Fed’s 100th Birthday

Premiering nationwide beginning this Friday, December 20 at 7:30 p.m. on public television (check local listings**) and on wealthtrack.com, Consuelo Mack WealthTrack presents a “Fed Centennial Special” in honor of the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Federal Reserve (December 23, 1913-2013), featuring two noted financial historians: Grant’s Interest Rate Observer‘s Jim Grant and NYU Stern School’s Professor of Financial Markets and Economics Richard Sylla, who debate the benefits and dangers of the Federal Reserve.

Tracing the evolution of the Fed from its 1913 beginnings to its current powerful role in global finance, economies and markets, Anchor and Executive Producer Consuelo Mack asks Grant and Sylla whether the Fed centennial is cause for celebration or condemnation. Grant and Sylla discuss the Federal Reserve’s impact historically, share their critiques — whether the Fed has been an effective price stabilizer and the Fed’s large impact on U.S. currency — and discuss what the primary goals of a central bank should be.

In this Consuelo Mack WealthTrack video, JimGrant and Richard Sylla comment on the Federal Reserve’s current practices:

Jim Grant thinks, “The Fed now is in the business of manipulating the structure of interest rates. It is in the business of suppressing some interest rates, and, new thing: it is in the business of talking up the stock market. In other words, Dick [Sylla] mentioned stabilizing prices. The Fed is manipulating prices, especially on Wall Street. It’s a very new thing.”

Richard Sylla says, “This is the first time in my memory when it seemed to be official U.S. government policy that the stock market goes up, and the Fed likes this because it thinks that when the stock market goes up, people who own stocks feel richer, they’ll go out and spend more money, and the unemployment rate will come down.” Sylla shares this example later in the episode: “Bernanke came out of a Fed meeting and said, ‘We might start tapering by the end of the year,’ which means they’d stop buying so many of these bonds and creating excess bank reserves. The stock market took a tumble. In the middle of December they’re worried now, especially the economy’s doing a little better, they think the Fed might announce pretty soon that there will be tapering, and so the stock market is weak again. I think this confirms the idea that the Federal Reserve is having a lot to do with stock market.”

Premiering nationwide beginning Friday, Jannuary 3 at 7:30 p.m. on public television (check local listings**) and on wealthtrack.com

Guests:

Tom Russo, Partner, Gardner Russo & Gardner

Wallace Weitz, President, Portfolio Manager, Weitz Funds

This week’s Consuelo Mack WealthTrack features a television first: an exclusive joint TV interview with Weitz Funds’ Wally Weitz and investment advisor Tom Russo, two value investors who have outstanding track records. They discuss the different places each is finding value, and why Warren Buffet is their investment hero.

About Consuelo Mack WealthTrack

New episodes premiere every week nationwide on public television (check local listings)

**New York metro area: Fridays at 7:30 p.m. on WLIW21, Saturdays at 8 a.m. on THIRTEEN and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on NJTV

Since July 2005, Consuelo Mack WealthTrack has provided trustworthy, understandable advice about building and protecting wealth over the long-term from the best minds in the business world. The weekly financial series remains the only program on television devoted to long-term diversified investing. In season 10, WealthTrack continues to give viewers pathways to build their financial security and tackle economic, market and political changes, featuring new interviews with “Great Investors” and “Financial Thought Leaders,” including David Winters, Dan Fuss, Richard Bernstein, and Bill Miller. Anchor, Executive Producer and Managing Editor Consuelo Mack, an award-winning, veteran business journalist with an extensive rolodex, handpicks each guest based on their professional credentials, performance and integrity. Following an in-depth discussion about the most significant current trends affecting investors, guests recommend “One Investment” that every individual should own in a long-term diversified portfolio. Each week’s episode concludes with Consuelo’s “Action Point,” one to-do item to help viewers achieve financial security. The series website –

wealthtrack.com – features new upgrades including a redesign to match the series’ new HD broadcast look for season 10, and exclusive enhanced content. Full episode streams, Consuelo’s “Action Point,” guests’ “One Investment” picks, transcripts, WealthTrack Web Extra featuring exclusive episode outtakes, interview podcasts and more, are also available at wealthtrack.com.Consuelo Mack WealthTrack is a presentation of WLIW21 in association with WNET. The series is distributed nationally by American Public Television and sponsored in part by New York Life and MainStay Investments, Loomis Sayles, and Wintergreen Advisers.Consuelo Mack WealthTrack official websites:http://wealthtrack.comhttp://facebook.com/wealthtrack